Barr was originally an imperial property, but in 1522 the Habsburgs leased it to Nicolas Ziegler, and a few years later give him the freehold. Ziegler’s sons sold Barr to the city of Strasbourg. This led to Barr being involved in the Bishop’s War of Strasbourg (1592–1604) against the Catholics of Lorraine, which resulted in Barr’s castle and many of its houses being razed to the ground in 1592.